Abstract: The materials of the William E. Timmons collection cover the period from January 1969 to August 1974. During this period Mr.
Timmons served first as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (1969-1970) under Bryce Harlow and then
as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs (1970-1974). Mr. Timmons served in this position until President Nixon’s
resignation on August 9, 1974. The materials in this collection are arranged into seven series including Subject Files, Legislative
Files, Inter-Office Memoranda, Correspondence, Chronological Files, Personnel Files and Reference and Research Files.

Language of Material: English

Access

Collection is open for research. Some materials may be unavailable based upon categories of materials exempt from public release
established in the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.

Publication Rights

Most government records are in the public domain, however, this series includes commercial materials, such as newspaper clippings,
that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.

These materials are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration under the provisions of Title I of
the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-526, 88 Stat. 1695) and implementing regulations.

Biography/Administrative History

William Evan Timmons was born on December 27, 1930 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After graduating from the Baylor Military Academy
in 1949, Mr. Timmons worked for the Provident Insurance Company until he joined the United States Air Force in 1951. He served
in the Air Force until 1955 and took part in the Korean War. After leaving the Air Force, Mr. Timmons worked as an aide for
Senator Alexander Wiley. He worked for Senator Wiley until 1961 during which time he earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree
from Georgetown University in 1959. In 1962, Mr. Timmons worked as the Administrative Assistant to Representative Bill Brock
and held this position until 1968. He was Congressman Brock’s Campaign Manager in 1962, 1964 and 1968. In 1965, Mr. Timmons
was selected as the Outstanding Young Republican by the National Young Republicans.
In 1968, Mr. Timmons worked as the Director of Congressional Relations for the Nixon-Agnew campaign and after the election
of Richard Nixon, he became the Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs working for Bryce Harlow. In 1970,
after Bryce Harlow left the Nixon White House, Mr. Timmons became the Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs.
Mr. Timmons held this position for the entire Nixon Presidency and he continued on as the Assistant to the President for Legislative
Affairs for President Gerald R. Ford after President Nixon’s resignation,. In 1975, Mr. Timmons left the Ford Administration
and, along with former White House staff member Tom Korologos, established the lobbying firm Timmons and Company. Timmons
and Company became one of the top lobbying firms in Washington D.C. representing companies such as the Chrysler Corporation
and Bristol-Myers. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter named Mr. Timmons to the Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations. Mr.
Timmons then served as an advisor to Ronald Reagan during his 1980 presidential campaign and he was in charge of Congressional
Relations for the Reagan transition team after Ronald Reagan’s election. He was appointed to the U.S.-Japan Advisory Commission
in 1986. In 2008, Mr. Timmons worked for the presidential campaign of John McCain preparing a transition team in case Mr.
McCain won the election. Mr. Timmons also served as the Republican National Convention Manager for the conventions of 1972,
1976, 1980 and 1984. He was a convention advisor for George H.W. Bush in 1988 and George W. Bush in 2000.
William Timmons and his wife Mimi have three children and nine grandchildren. They currently reside in Bethesda, Maryland.

Scope and Content of Collection

The materials of the William E. Timmons collection cover the period from January 1969 to
August 1974. During this period Mr. Timmons served first as Deputy Assistant to the President
for Legislative Affairs (1969-1970) under Bryce Harlow and then as Assistant to the President
for Legislative Affairs (1970-1974). Mr. Timmons served in this position until President
Nixon’s resignation on August 9, 1974. The materials in this collection are arranged into seven
series including Subject Files, Legislative Files, Inter-Office Memoranda, Correspondence,
Chronological Files, Personnel Files and Reference and Research Files.
The Subject Files and Legislative Files series cover a wide range of foreign and domestic policy
issues. Subjects in this series include: Vietnam, the environment, abortion, women’s rights, 18
year old voting age, health care, energy, the economy, and Watergate to name just a few. The
materials mention creating legislation and strategy on how to get particular pieces of legislation
passed or defeated. The series contains vote tracking sheets for Mr. Timmons and his staff to
keep track on how the administration stood on an issue and what was needed to do to gather
more support. There are also materials on potential implications if the President were to veto a
piece of legislation and if there was sufficient support in Congress to overturn the President’s
veto. Materials covering Vice-President Agnew’s resignation, the appointment of Congressman
Gerald Ford as Vice-President and the potential impeachment of President Nixon over the
Watergate affair are included.
The Inter-Office Memoranda series includes internal correspondence between Mr. Timmons and
his staff, President Nixon and other members of the White House Staff. White House staff
members who have materials in this series include: Henry Kissinger, H.R. Haldeman, John
Ehrlichman, John Dean and Charles Colson. The subjects of this series are on legislative
strategy and political issues. Campaign strategy is discussed in these materials including which
Members of Congress have been favorable to the Nixon Administration and should receive
White House support in their re-election efforts. The series contains a large amount of materials
on Congressman Gerald Ford, Senator Bob Dole and Senator Strom Thurmond.
The Correspondence series is the largest series in the collection. Materials in this series include
correspondence to and from Mr. Timmons and the Legislative Affairs staff. Staff members
include Bill Casselman, Dick Cook, Patrick O’Donnell, Ken BeLieu, Max Friederadorf, Tom
Korologos, Fred Webber, and Vern Loen. Subjects of these correspondences include requests
from Members of Congress for The President to review certain legislative topics as well as
requests for the President to contact members of their constituency on special occasions. The
series also contains correspondence from Clark MacGregor who served as Counselor to the
President for Legislative Affairs and correspondence Mr. Timmons received from the general
public.
The Chronological Files series contain copies of all correspondence sent by Mr. Timmons and
his staff. The materials are of the same subjects as correspondence in the collections other series.
The Personnel Files series contain materials on individuals seeking positions with Mr. Timmons
staff or with Legislative Affairs staff in other government agencies. Correspondence in this
series includes requests from Members of Congress to find positions for individuals in their
constituency and requests from Members of Congress who lost re-election seeking to find
positions for themselves. Internal memoranda discuss the status of current Legislative Affairs
staff and who should be kept or replaced. The Reference and Research Files series contains
reports, books and articles used by Mr. Timmons and his staff to collect data to establish whether
the administration support or attempt to defeat a legislative issue.
The collection includes one box of photographs and one audio tape that has been transferred to
our audio-visual department. Please contact the Nixon Library audio-visual staff if you are
interested in viewing these items.